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Amazon offers refunds for dodgy solar eclipse glasses
Did you buy a low-cost pair of eclipse glasses hoping to watch the August 21st solar eclipse without spending a fortune? Amazon might be reaching out to you. The company has confirmed a recent Verge report that it's "proactively" refunding purchases of eclipse glasses that might not meet the ISO 12312-2 safety standards needed to protect your eyes. It also appears to be pulling product listings for those glasses to be on the safe side.
Apple buys a company making eye-tracking glasses
Apple wasn't shy about its augmented reality plans at WWDC this year, and it's backing up those goals with yet another acquisition. MacRumors has learned that Apple recently bought SensoMotoric Instruments, a German company that makes eye-tracking glasses and platforms for both augmented and virtual reality. It's not discussing the terms of the deal or long-term plans (it only offered a stock confirmation to Axios), but the nature of SensoMotoric's tech could hint at what Apple wants.
Warby Parker has an app that checks your eyes at home
Usually, completing a vision test for new glasses requires a trip to the optometrist and the glasses store. Newly announced technology could change that, however. Warby Parker, which started out as a try-before-you-buy mail-order eyeglasses company, is currently looking to use devices you already have in your home to help you get a new pair of glasses without having to drive to a doctor. If you have an expired vision prescription, you can use an iPhone, a computer and about 12 feet of space to find out if your vision has changed since your last exam.
Microsoft's true holographic display fits in your glasses
A lot of the technology billed as holographic, well, isn't. Not even HoloLens. Real holography requires a laser-generated 3D image, and it's no mean feat to stuff that into something you can comfortably wear. Microsoft just made some important progress, however. Its researchers have developed a true, near-eye holographic whose optics can fit inside a regular pair of glasses. The mirrors and the liquid crystal on silicon needed to achieve the effect sit inside the frame -- it's only the electronics that have to stay outside. While this extra-compact size would normally result in an unusable picture, corrections in the holographic projector make it easy to read details down to individual pixels.
Smart cycling glasses show data without blocking your view
You can already buy smart glasses for cycling, but they tend to have one big catch: the heads-up display partly obscures your view. That's annoying at best, and risky at worst. Everysight thinks it can do better. It's close to finishing development of Raptor, a set of augmented reality glasses that projects data on a transparent display on the lens. You'll get navigation, speed, heart rate and other vital info without losing valuable visual real estate. They'll even record your ride in HD (with sound), so you can review your performance after the fact.
DOJ: Cinemas must offer tech for blind and deaf customers
Digital distribution means that it's no longer a chore to distribute movies with audio description and closed captioning. Despite this, some theaters have resisted offering the service, cutting out people with disabilities from enjoying the full cinema experience. That's what's prompted Attorney General Loretta Lynch to sign a final rule affirming that theaters must own, maintain and advertise disability aids for patrons.
Snapchat Spectacles are available in New York City
You knew it was just a matter of time -- after stops in California and Oklahoma, Snapchat is now selling Spectacles in New York City. If you can make it to 5 East 59th Street in upper midtown Manhattan (conveniently facing Apple's iconic 5th Avenue store) and can afford to queue up, you too can score up to two pairs of the purposefully hard-to-get $130 camera glasses. The store will stick around through New Year's Eve, although it'll unsurprisingly be closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Snapchat's Spectacles won't make you look like a Glasshole
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}You would have thought that after the spectacular failure of Google Glass and the virulent public rejection its users experienced, other companies would be wary of developing and marketing camera glasses. But 2016 has been that kind of year. Earlier this week, Snapchat, they of the wildly popular messaging app, began rolling out its first wearable, Spectacles, through a series of pop-up vending machines. The $130 glasses are already a hot commodity, fetching upward of $900 on eBay. I managed to get my hands on a pair (don't ask how) and have some thoughts on the matter.
Buy Snapchat's Spectacles at this weirdo vending machine (updated)
Spectacles, Snapchat's odd but intriguing move into wearable hardware, is starting to make its way into the wild. The company just announced how you'll be able to purchase Spectacles, and it's about as weird as you'd expect. The glasses will only be available at custom vending machines called Snapbots -- the first one arrived in Los Angeles, near Snapchat's headquarters, earlier today.
Snapchat to release $130 camera-equipped Spectacles this fall
Yes, the Snapchat Spectacles are real, and company chief Evan Spiegel presented them to a small group of people today. That's where he also revealed that the company has been rebranded and renamed to Snap Inc. According to The Wall Street Journal, Snap Inc.'s first wearable product comes armed with a camera that can record 10-second videos when you tap a button near the hinge. Every tap starts a new recording. The results don't look like typical* videos shot with phones or action cams, though -- not when it captures circular footage that mimics our own vision. Apparently, Spiegel believes that the rectangular format is "an unnecessary vestige of printing photos on sheets of paper." And since this is Snapchat we're talking about, the glasses can sync with your phone wirelessly, making anything it takes easy to share online.
'Spectacles by Snapchat' leak shows camera-equipped sunglasses
As if a report that Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel had been spotted wearing a pair of camera-packing sunglasses wasn't enough, now Business Insider says it has an ad or demo video showing the product. Apparently posted to YouTube until it was taken down by a Snapchat claim, it shows "Spectacles by Snapchat" briefly, then video from the perspective of the wearer. There's no indication of any augmented reality capabilities, but if you were creeped out by Google Glass you may get a similar feeling here. What we can see however, is that the round camera and logo shape may be an indicator of circular or spherical video, that displays correctly whether you're watching on a display that is in landscape or portrait.
Level is a pair of glasses that doubles as an activity tracker
Last year, VSP, the nation's largest vision care provider, unveiled what it thinks is the eyewear of the future. It's called Project Genesis and it comes from The Shop, a thinktank innovation lab within VSP. Project Genesis is essentially a pair of glasses with a slew of activity tracking sensors built into the temple. The idea here is that it's a lot easier to remember to put on your glasses -- which is what many people need to wear everyday anyway -- versus something like a Fitbit. And sensor-laden eyewear offers other potential metrics too, like gait and posture. Now, VSP is ready to take the next step. Starting this Saturday, it's partnering with University of Southern California's Center of Body Computing to conduct a four-month long pilot study of the glasses with hundreds of volunteers. Oh, and the hardware has also been completely reimagined into something much more consumer-friendly. Say hello to the Level.
This phone-powered vision test can replace your eye doctor
There are dozens of inexpensive ways to buy glasses online today, but getting a new eyeglass prescription is as old-school as ever: Book an appointment with your eye doctor, spend more time than you expect in the waiting room and go through a full exam. Even if you're lucky enough to book through Zocdoc, it's still a long process. Smart Vision Labs hopes to make it easier to get a new glasses prescription with the SVOne Enterprise, a smartphone-powered self-guided vision test that's launching in some New York City glasses stores today.
The US Olympic cycling team is training with smart glasses
When the US cycling team heads to the Olympics in Rio this summer, it'll have an ace up its sleeve: training with smart glasses. Solos has worked with the team to create augmented reality glasses that show vital data in mid-ride (such as cadence and heart rate), making it ideal for athletes looking to push themselves a little harder. It talks to common cycling apps, too, such as MapMyRide, Strava and TrainingPeaks. However, the best part may be the availability -- Solos is running a crowdfunding campaign to get everyday cyclists using the eyewear.
These smart glasses became my erratic personal trainer
Fitness wearables don't have to go on your wrist -- although it makes sense that most of them are designed that way. We've been wearing wristwatches for generations, so it's a place where we're used to tethering something. But how about the original wearable: eyewear? JINS Meme is a pair of unassuming smartglasses that have highly sensitive three-axis gyroscopes and accelerometers inside. And because they're situated on your head, the Japanese eyewear company says it can offer insight into your posture and balance and pinpoint weaknesses. To help you with all of the above, JINS recently launched a core-training application ("taikan") to complement its existing running-coach app. It tests your core strength (think: abs, back, abductors, butt, etc.) and offers a live critique on how you're doing. Here's how training went.
Volkswagen is issuing AR glasses as standard factory equipment
Following a successful 3-month pilot program at its Wolfsburg plant, Volkswagen announced on Tuesday that it will begin issuing 3D smart glasses to its plant logistics personnel. These glasses, which display information like bin locations and part numbers directly in the user's line of sight, should help speed up order picking. That is, they'll tell plant employees if the parts they're holding are the parts they actually need. And to keep the process as hands-free as possible, a camera embedded in the specs will double as a barcode scanner.
How an insurance company is trying to craft eyewear of the future
I had just driven 85 miles north of San Francisco when I finally reached my destination: a bright red building with large floor-to-ceiling windows in downtown Sacramento. The structure's high ceilings and spacious interior gave a subtle reminder that it used to be a former Chevrolet dealership. But instead of Camaros and Corvettes, the space was filled with desks, project boards adorned with Post-it notes and temporary work spaces separated by flexible cardboard walls. A hanging pirate flag and a Rubik's Cube sculpture lent the office a startup vibe.
Japan's Privacy Visor will hide your face from software for $240
Right, it's not quite as cool as the Laughing Man's live camera hacking, but it's as close as we'll get for a while. Dr. Isao Echizen at Japan's National Institute of Informatics has spent the better part of two years cooking up a pair of specs that render people's faces undetectable to autofocusing cameras and (with any luck) the facial recognition tech that power the web's social services. The secret behind Echizen's madness creation is a series of carefully crafted lenses that reflect, refract and absorb light in different ways to make your mug nearly unrecognizable to the face-finding software in smartphone and tablet cameras.
Warby Parker wants you to use your phone for eye exams (update)
Warby Parker, the eyewear company that sends you frames to try on before you make a purchase, has some lofty goals for the near future. In addition to plans that'll almost double its current retail footprint, the start-up has tech in the works that will save you a trip to the optometrist for an eye exam. "We think that would increase access to eye exams," co-founder Dave Gilboa told The Wall Street Journal. "It's early in the process but we are excited about the potential." Of course, besides the convenience, it'll also provide an avenue for folks who really need their eyes looked at to get some help at home.
Can a head-worn fitness device work? Recon seems to think so
Long before Google had ever uttered the word glass, Recon Instruments was rising to prominence with a head-worn display designed for snow sports. You'd be forgiven for not knowing the name, since the technology was buried inside expensive sets of ski goggles like Oakley's Airwave. Then, the company announced that a new product for cyclists and runners would arrive, this time branded under its own name. Few outside the running/cycling community paid attention to the Recon Jet, since they were all distracted by Google's rival. Two years later, and Glass has been pulled from the market in the hope that Tony Fadell can turn it into a device people want to buy. As such, the road is clear for Recon's fitness-oriented wearable, but can this small Canadian company succeed where Google failed? Earlier this year, I sat down with the company's Tom Fowler and a nearly finished prototype of the final hardware to find out.
